Maciste all'inferno

What an odd confection of Roman mythology and Christian fairy tale in this underworld battle, "Maciste in Hell." The film may also be illustrative of the development of a cinema with a target audience of largely boys, with an emphasis on juvenile fantasy and visual effects that extends all the way to the mainstream of "Star Wars" (1977) and, by extension, the comic-book movies that dominate today's market.

First, there are two ports of entry here that I'm familiar with, of which this film is a consequence. Directly, there's the 1914 epic "Cabiria," which introduced the Maciste character, a popular personality of Italian silent cinema. Reportedly, strongman Bartolomeo Pagano (actually, he was a stevedore before entering the movie business) starred in thirteen films as this character between 1915 and 1926, and the giant would continue past the silent era with his revival in the 1960s. "Cabiria" was also the pinnacle of the early feature-length spectacle pictures made in Italy in the early 1910s. The sets and sheer grandeur of it had a direct influence on D. W. Griffith's productions of "The Birth of a Nation" (1915) and "Intolerance" (1916).

The other influence on this is the féeries (fairy films) of Georges Méliès, the original cine-magician who practically invented children's movies, as well as popularizing the early cinema trick effects that still largely comprise the visual effects of "Maciste in Hell," namely multiple-exposure photography and stop-substitution splicing. Méliès also had a flair for theatrical set design, and the production design overall in "Maciste in Hell" is arguably more Méliès than it is "Cabiria," not least because it's simply not that big of an epic.

What the cavernous hellscape here especially reminds me of, though, is the original 1936 "Flash Gordon" serial (although it was a comic first). I could certainly see Flash riding around on a dragon, wrestling demons and trying to rescue damsels whilst often not displaying any outward sexual interest in them. As many I'm sure know, "Flash Gordon" was a major influence on "Star Wars," and this should be quite apparent to anyone who has seen both series. They're both basically chapter-play shoot-'em-up Westerns in outer space--to a large extent, what the Marvel Cinematic Universe is for today's generation.

This is otherwise what I found most dull about "Maciste in Hell." It's a simplistic battle of good and evil. Childishly so. Maciste's spell in Hell best illustrates this point. Being a living being from Earth, he can't spend more than three days in the underworld (because decrees, or something--Hades apparently having its own constitutional monarchy and government institutions). That is unless he commit the gravest sin: kissing a woman. A lot of emphasis in this picture on the dangers of female sexuality. I guess it's one way to get pre-adolescent male audiences invested in the suspense of romantic kissing. When Maciste inevitably surrenders to their feminine wiles, he's punished--now, get this--by hair growing in all sorts of odd places on his body. What a laughable puberty metaphor. He also becomes stronger, or super-strong. Essentially, he's a hairy X-Men mutant or that werewolf from the "Twilight" series, which are all silly adolescent allegories, too. I mean, c'mon, what did you think the teenage Spiderman ejaculating silk from his wrists was supposed to represent?

This isn't "Faust," as Maciste unnecessarily points out--and unflatteringly considering that F. W. Murnau's vastly superior devil-themed film, "Faust" (1926), was released around the same time. Neither is this, regardless of its Italian origins, Dante's "Inferno," which was made into one of Italy's first longer films in 1911. This is also despite the Pordenone Silent Film Festival screening what constitutes a warhorse print by comparison to the other new restorations they program ("Maciste in Hell" being restored back in 2009, as based on one from 1993, and the film already being fairly accessible, including existing in various shapes on YouTube) ostensibly in celebration of the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri. No, this is kiddie stuff.

That's not to say it's not well made and sometimes entertaining, lackadaisical though the plot may be. Although the trick effects aren't much of anything new, some of them are pretty good and sometimes used as scene transitions. A bit with a dismembered head when Mastice first enters Hades looks good. I especially like the film-within-film visions for the underworld to watch life on Earth, although such visions, too, are a multiple-exposure trick extending back to early cinema. Their use as surveillance is relatively novel, though. The editing, especially early on, is choppy, but that's kind of refreshing compared to the snail pace of little to no scene dissection in the early Italian epics such as "Cabiria." Plus, it's evident the print is pretty beat up, with scratches and cuts and other marks flashing on screen here and there. For obvious reasons, there's considerable red tinting and pyrotechnics.

As for the underworld battle, there's the Lucifer devil trying to usurp King Pluto, although why the devil brought Maciste down there to fight on the opposing side before starting this civil war seems an enormous blunder. So, it's the old gods versus the new, the two major religions to spring from Rome (albeit both by way of the Levant). Granted, I've read that the film went through some censorship issues over its religious depictions, which reportedly delayed its release in Italy, but I'm just going off the restoration that I saw. Interesting that Roman mythology reigns supreme in Hades here, including guest appearances by the likes of Charon (not just a concierge from the "John Wick" franchise) and Minos, while Christianity seems to have decidedly taken control above, as indicated by the Christmas-theme denouement. Maciste is also decidedly a Hercules figure. Yet, in the end, "Maciste in Hell" specifically frames itself as a fairy tale, alluding to its true origins in those Méliès féeries--the worship of visions on a wall, the church of cinema.

I had not heard of this film. At my age and with all the movies I've viewed, it's surprising that it never crossed my path. I was most intrigued by how the desirability of the male form has changed over time. This guy would be considered an overweight lunk nowadays. As it is, he is admired for his strength and his morality. That's the way it should be. The filmmakers have created a real world, depicting hell in sort of a Danteesque portrayal. This man makes the ultimate sacrifice; his soul; in order to gain vengeance against Satan himself. Of course he makes some mistakes along the way, but he has a pure being and endures all that is thrown at him. The images are incredible for the time and the story is interesting. I guess this fellow was part of a canon of films that no longer exist. It's worth a shot, just to see how quickly a gifted filmmaker could begin to see the possibilities of the new technology.

Since I was going through some of the low-brow Italian peplums of the 50s and 60s over the Easter period, I decided to watch this Silent epic (also made in Italy) simultaneously. However, it turned out to not really be a peplum after all – despite the muscular title character (protagonist of a long-running series of films and, here, somewhat incongruously sporting modern attire – including a suit and tie!) and the fact that the Italians had actually pioneered the religious epic genre during the Silent era! That said, I guess I should have known since I had already watched Riccardo Freda's colorful but disappointing 1962 semi-remake (actually set against a 17th Century Puritan backdrop) but, there at least, Maciste is still somehow fitted with the traditional loincloth…

Anyway, to get to the movie itself: since I hadn't previously watched any of the Silent Italian epics, I didn't quite know how well it would have worn the passage of time but, surprisingly, I was left reasonably impressed by the visual splendor of the production which often evoked medieval paintings – particularly in its hellish sequences. In fact, as I watched the film, I was most reminded – as had been another viewer writing on the IMDb – of Benjamin Christensen's HAXAN (1922) and F.W. Murnau's FAUST (1926) which, I'm sure you'll agree, is high praise indeed for a film of this kind! Besides, the human form taken by the devil Barbariccia (literally "Curlybeard") and his minions evokes memories of Scapinelli, the Mephistophelean figure of "The Student Of Prague" (a German folk-tale filmed twice, at least, during the Silent era)…

The plot of the film proper – Maciste is apparently a do-gooder whose activities are giving Hell a bad name, so a devil is sent to Earth in order to tempt him; somehow, the former ends up in the underworld and, giving in to the affections of some devilish sirens, is himself turned into a hellish creature…until saved by a child's prayer on Christmas Eve! – is quaint yet curiously effective, especially given the myriad unconvincing-looking demons Maciste has to face; at one point, there's even a revolt (never fully explained, at least in the 66-minute print I watched) against Barbariccia's dominion in Hell – which is an interesting way of saying that petty jealousies and machinations, the cause of so much evil on Earth, are present in the afterlife as well!

I don't recall the 1962 film enough to make comparisons, except to say that it was an unintentional laugh-riot, but also that the plot of the later version is quite different – as it involves a reanimated witch who had been burned at the stake (in fact, it was called THE WITCH'S CURSE in the U.S.); I know, however, that I enjoyed the 'original' a good deal and am certainly interested now in seeking out more Silent spectacles from Italy – L'INFERNO (1911), THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII (1913), CABIRIA (1914), etc.

This is one of the most amazing films I have ever seen. The scope of it's storytelling is nothing short of biblical, and I am not referring to the plot but to the size of the film. This movie was bigger than all three of the PETER JACKSON'S JRR TOLKEIN'S THE LORD OF THE RINGS: A FILM BY PETER JACKSON DIRECTED BY PETER JACKSON movies combined, when proportions to era are taken into consideration. It dwarfs pretty much anything you can think of and the only comparison I can make would be maybe cross BIRTH OF A NATION with Hieronymous Bosch's "Garden of Earthy Delights" triptych and throw in ample amounts of that brown acid the Pigman was warning everyone about on the WOODSTOCK soundtrack.

Even then it doesn't do justice to the scale of the film: Individual humans seem puny or insignificant compared to the immense sets, brimming with contorted and writhing forms of the damned, confined to hell for all eternity as if it was some huge mosh pit at a GWAR concert. As one contributor has already stated it has little in common with the "Maciste" muscle-man films of the Italian Peplum rage of 1960 - 1964 or so. Other than our hero goes around righting wrongs, fighting for the freedom of the innocent, and making all the evil, reptilian she-hellions swoon. Here he is a modern man in a vested suit but the effect is no different once the film switches gear at about the twenty minute mark when Maciste is literally thrown into the bowels of Hades, and it is not a pretty place.

Every last cultural form that has been attributed to Lucifer, Mephistopholes, Satan or the Devil finds manifestation in this film, and certain scenes do indeed appear to have been directly inspired by the visual work of classical artists like Bosh, Blake, Goya and Titian. Out of nowhere come dragons, devil men carrying pitchforks, a giant Saturn devouring his children, horned beasts of every shape & description, and a cast of thousands undulating in a sparking, smoking, simmering vision of hell that would even scare Osama Bin Laden out of his cave. Screw dropping bombs on Afganistan, bombard the bastards with videos and DVDs of this movie. They'll surrender inside of a week after seeing what fate awaits them as Legions of the Damned.

As for videos and DVDs, sadly the most common version of this movie currently available is a VHS sourced DVD print of the 65 minute English paneled version, with an arbitrary classical music score tacked on but some genuinely compelling hand tinting to the Hades segments. It is the most frenzied, out of control silent film I have ever seen: HAXAN is dreamily sonorous compared to the brimstone and riotous clamor of this movie. Some of the beginning passages have the kind of over-dramatic acting one usually associates with silent movies -- complete with a squad of mustachioed Mephistopholes' -- but once it shifts underground every scene is depicted with a kind of visual authority that will indeed take modern day viewers by surprise. It is a staggering movie filled with some of the most outrageous visuals ever filmed, and is 81 years old. Holy Moses.

10/10, and that's just for the chopped 65 minute version. Just amazing.

What a great looking movie.

Several demons come to earth to begin plans for taking over the world. Standing in their way is Maciste a super strong good guy. The demons offer Maciste anything he wants if he will aid them however he turns them down. They eventually trick Maciste so that he ends up in hell where he proceeds to mop up the place.

If you've ever seen any of the sword and sandal films from the 1950's and 1960's with Maciste you're looking at the same character. Created in the 1913 film Cabria the do gooding muscle man has been helping the down trodden ever since. Not dressed as a muscle man, but instead as a country gentleman, Maciste's appearance may throw some people off, but rest assured its the same guy.

I love this movie. Its a great deal of fun. It looks great with demons,dragons and a giant that put most other film makers to shame (at least until the advent of computer graphics). This is an epic with thousands of demons and huge sets and great action and everything about a movie that makes you go WOW. There is a wonderful moral sense to the film that we no longer have and which adds a nice dimension to the film.

It also doesn't go in the direction you think it will which is great for those who think they've seen it all.

Silent or no, this is one of the best muscle man movies there is (trust me I've seen most of them) and is worth searching out. Even better its a damn fine movie in its own right.

See this movie or I'll send the flying demons after you.